"Unlawful collusion and price-fixing not only violates antitrust laws, it is anti-competitive and inconsistent with the free market approach that is critical to our economy," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement. "Today's settlements provide refunds to customers who paid artificially inflated prices for e-books."

The Alleged Conspiracy

The DOJ argued that Apple and the five publishers sought to increase e-book prices "significantly higher" than the typical $9.99. According to the complaint, the publishers saw Amazon.com's lower prices as a "substantial challenge to their traditional business model," Bloomberg reported.

According to the complaint from the DOJ, the publishers and Apple agreed to set a new method of pricing, which would not allow for retailers to change prices set by publishers. Under the illicit deal, Apple would have benefited from a 30 percent commission on all digital book sales.

What Remains?

There's still pending litigation against Apple and the publishers Macmillan and Penguin Group, according to Bloomberg.